Mike Pierce's blog

Safety is such a critical element to success in business. There is a specific discipline to implementing safe practices - preparation, orderliness, organization, etc., so that an organization that prioritizes safety is bound to be a better run organization.

It used to be that business was conducted by a handshake and a written agreement to make sure both parties knew what the handshake was all about. Austin’s standard agreements for a range of applications run anywhere from 1-7 pages – not that they are used much anymore.

Recent contracts for a variety of projects have agreements in the 100+ pages category to accomplish the same thing that was once done in 5 or 6 pages. What gives?

The second quarter 2013 Construction Industry Confidence Index published by Engineering News Record reached the highest score since its inception in 2008. This is certainly good news! This tells us that the industry, overall, is seeing the market the same way.

Say you buy a car and have a problem with the steering and suspension. Now, the steering system is designed by a supplier to the automaker, and the suspension is as well. If you have a problem, you don’t call the automaker and get involved in a debate over what is wrong and who is to blame. You just want it fixed with no excuses.